Meet William Ledbetter: Science Fiction Writer

We had the good fortune of connecting with William Ledbetter and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi William, do you have a favorite quote or affirmation?
“Even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.” -Will Rogers

I love this quote because it is simple and so very true. Even if you’ve made some small successes, even if your career is moving in the direction you want to go, you still have to do the work to make it to your final goal or destination. In most cases, becoming a good writer–or any creative professional–is a never-ending process. One needs to constantly try to improve, stretch the boundaries, take risks, and learn from others. Unfortunately, I’ve known writers who were very good and could’ve been spectacular but instead plateaued far short of their potential, simply because they believed they had reached their destination.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I started writing later in life than many of my peers and was nearly forty before I tried to get any of my work published. I attribute what success I’ve had to the fact that I made two big changes in mindset soon after I started writing. The first was to treat writing seriously. During that period in my life, I had young kids at home, a full time day job and a lot of demands on my time, but adopted the opinion that “I can’t FIND time to write so I have to MAKE time to write.” I shelved most of my other hobbies and pursuits (even playing video games) and dedicated most of my free time to writing. I started getting up early and writing for an hour or two, each morning before starting the day job. That dedicated time to write every day made a huge difference. The second change was that I made a promise to myself that I would not give up. Most writers that I know have felt the crushing disappointment and overwhelming futility of receiving rejection after rejection for their work. After long enough, it begins to feel like you are wasting your time and that you’re just beating your head against a wall. My first short story was published in 2000 and I won a Nebula Award in 2017. During that seventeen-year period I had a few successes to buoy my spirits, but for the most part it was mostly the dark and lonely drudgery of opening one rejection letter after another. Yet I didn’t give up, and when I won the Nebula, an award given by members of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, my peers in the speculative fiction industry, I realized that during those long and lonely years, some readers and editors did appreciate all my effort and hard work. But while winning awards has helped me see that I I’m on the right track, they are by no means an indicator that I have reached my destination. I must keep working hard, keep learning and reaching down to help those on latter beneath me.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
The Dallas area has some great museums, so we would definitely hit some of my favorites like the Frontiers of Flight Museum, Perot Museum of Nature and Science, and the Dallas Museum Of Art. Probably The Dallas Arboretum as well. And since my best friends are mostly science fiction writers and nerds like me, we would have to tour the best local independent book stores like Deep Vellum Books, Interabang Books, and The Wild Detectives. And if time allowed we also have to hang out one afternoon at Nerdvana in Frisco. Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Two people actually. Michelle Muenzler and Melanie Fletcher. Both are long-time friends, very talented Dallas area writers, and have been instrumental in making me a better writer. And my wife, Denise, who is not a science fiction fan, yet has always given me the time and space I needed to pursue this wacky dream of mine and has always believed I could do it.

Website: http://www.williamledbetter.com/
Twitter: @Ledbetter_sf
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/william.ledbetter/

Image Credits
none